After stakeholder engagement and an international design competition, Agence Ter's plan for "radical flatness" has been selected to replace downtown L.A.'s current Pershing Square. The preferred alternative is, above all, simple.
The campaign to renew Los Angeles' Pershing Square has reached a turning point: a design has been selected, and now the pressure's on to fund and build. Last week, the public-private partnership Pershing Square Renew announced that Agence Ter, a French landscape design firm, will remake the confused space into something resembling an actual park.
For the LA Times, Christopher Hawthorne writes, "The winning design focuses on opening the park directly to the sidewalks around it, replacing concrete with grass and providing extensive new pockets of shade. It is very much a reaction to, if not an outright apology for, the visual clutter of present-day Pershing Square, which remains a conspicuous dead space in an otherwise revived and money-soaked downtown."
Compared to its rivals in the design competition, the Agence Ter plan calls for fewer topographical alterations, its "radical flatness" clearly appealing to the jury selected to review the designs. Central to the new design is an open lawn, with shade trees on one side and an expansive "smart canopy" on the other, topped with solar panels. Pershing Square's underground parking garage will remain, but it will no longer rise above sidewalk level, giving pedestrians easy access to the central lawn.
The new design will be implemented, but questions remain about funding and a timetable. The current goal is 2019, but that's assuming City Hall is fully on board and enough private funding comes through. Even so, it's an exciting development in a placemaking saga that encapsulates downtown L.A.'s ongoing renaissance.
FULL STORY: French landscape firm wins Pershing Square competition with call for 'radical flatness'
Los Angeles to Redesign Its 'Worst Public Space'
Josh Stephens reports on the Pershing Square Renew Design Challenge, an effort to redo one of the "world's worst squares and plazas." The new Pershing Square may hearken back to the years before its misguided 1992 redesign.
Pershing Square, Downtown L.A.’s ‘Forgotten Park,’ Begins Long Awaited Revamp
A makeover that began in 2015 is finally underway in 2023, but the process of reconstructing Pershing Square is expected to proceed incrementally.
L.A.'s Pershing Square Headed for Redesign
The first phases of a plan to remake the downtown Los Angeles plaza into a more inviting, accessible public space are going to kick off soon.
Planetizen’s Top Planning Books of 2023
The world is changing, and planning with it.
Chicago Red Line Extension Could Transform the South Side
The city’s transit agency is undertaking its biggest expansion ever to finally bring rail to the South Side.
How ‘Daylighting’ Intersections Can Save Lives
Eliminating visual obstructions can make intersections safer for all users.
Oklahoma City Begins Work on Parking-Protected Bike Lane
The project is part of the city’s broader plan to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure and road safety.
How Cities Can Avoid Perpetuating Segregation
Residents of big cities, known as the ‘melting pots’ of America, have fewer interactions with people outside their socioeconomic group than those in smaller communities, according to new research.
US Building Emissions are Growing
Green building standards and efficiency retrofits are not keeping up with energy demand, resulting in a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
City of Morganton
San Joaquin County
University of New Mexico - School of Architecture & Planning
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Park City Municipal Corporation
National Capital Planning Commission
City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
